10-hour limit for truckers proposed
Change would reverse Bush-era rewrites
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is considering the establishment of a 10-hour driving limit for long-haul truckers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Administration said Thursday it favors reducing the current 11-hour limit by an hour. But the agency is accepting comments on whether to change the rule, signaling it may not be completely behind the idea.
The Obama administration has been considering whether to rewrite rules passed in the waning hours of the Bush administration that allowed commercial truckers to drive 11 consecutive hours before resting. That changed a six-decade standard for truckers.
The administration is “leaning” toward the change, said Henry Jasny, general counsel with Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “They didn’t say they are going to do it.”
Administration officials have been looking at changes since an October 2009 agreement with safety and labor groups who, in return, shelved a third lawsuit over the rules. Groups have specifically sought the 10-hour limit in the proposed rules.
The Bush administration also cut rest and recovery time at the end of a work week to as little as 34 hours off duty, from the previous guideline of from 50 or more hours.
Safety groups want a 48-hour rest period. But the Obama administration wants to continue the 34 hour off-duty rule while requiring drivers to have two nights sleep before restarting the clock on a workweek.
The proposed changes are to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register. The public will then have 60 days to comment. Final rules are to be published by July 26.